It was a lonely job, but someone had to do it.
For hours on Thursday, while conservative Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives delivered a barrage of budget amendments aimed at stripping — in some cases eliminating — funding for U.S. aid agencies, Rep. Barbara Lee, a Democrat from California, patiently made the case for sustaining American support for global health, development, and humanitarian relief abroad.
“I rise in opposition to this amendment,” Lee repeated again and again, in response to her colleagues’ proposals to cut USAID’s budget in half, eliminate international disaster assistance, prohibit U.S. funding for Ukraine, stop implementation of the Paris Climate Accord, and constrain America’s foreign aid programs in dozens of other ways.
About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
